It’s snowing outside.
I mean, really snowing.
It’s so pretty. Peaceful. I could walk around outside in it for hours. I drove around in it for over an hour, just enjoying the flakes flying at my windshield and listening to loud music. And now I’m home with my crew, cuddled under my amazing blanket, looking forward to watching The Bible Series with them all.
This morning as part of my disciplines, I went back and studied the Palm Sunday passage in Matthew. I’ve written about Palm Sunday before, you can read that Here.
I saw something new this year, in examining this passage. You can find the entire passage in Matthew 21. Please take the time to read it, if you have not done so today. But here are the scriptures I want to focus on tonight:
I completely missed this in studying this passage before…..the whole city was stirred up. Take a moment and imagine what that must have been like, looked like, sounded like and even felt like? A sense of anticipation. A sense of wonderment. A sense of eagerness. The whole city was stirred up. When I am stirred up, I generally am worked up over something, whether it be something positive or negative. My mind goes in overdrive. I can hardly think of anything else. My soul is completely engaged. And here, in this situation, the whole city was stirred up.
What was the people’s question? What was the city’w question? It was simple “Who is this?”. Wo is this man that caused people to spontaneously lay down their coats in the dust and mud for the donkey to trample over? Who was this man that caused people to cut palm branches to do the same? Who was this man that elicited shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Son of David? How did they know He was a son of David? How did they know that this Jesus was coming in the name of the Lord?”
I love this part. This stirred up city, this city caught up in the activities and wonderment of all that is going on, is asking “Who is this?” And the crowds themselves are who answer the question: “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” Do you see that? The crowd answered the question of who Jesus was; of who Jesus is. Who. Who is this Jesus??
Watching the Bible series with my crew tonight, I’m watching as he heals the leper, the lame. I imagine the compassion in his eyes; the joy even at being able to restore these broken bodies, but even more so, to restore these broken souls and forgive their sins.
As I watch the tax collector’s, having just completed my own taxes, I hear his parable of the pharasiee and the tax collector praying in the temple. And I am deeply moved by God’s mercy on Matthew. A sinner. Like me. Like you.
This was no ordinary man. This was a personal Jesus. A Jesus that related to the people. A person who saw. Who knew. This was God in flesh. And what should our reaction be? Hosanna! Hosanna!
And what does Hosanna mean? An exclamation, originally an appeal to God for deliverance, used in praise of God or Christ.
Hosanna God! Hosanna Jesus! Deliver us! We praise you!
Happy Palm Sunday…..Hosanna in the Highest!
***If you didn’t get a chance to read last night’s post, you’ll find it here–it contains an update of the weekend’s Devoted Discipleship event for the youth, thoughts on Romans 12:1-2, as well as an update on Bethany’s upcoming surgery.
